The Montreal Canadiens ended the Buffalo Sabres' season on Monday night, winning Game 7 in convincing fashion. That sets the stage for a pair of Conference Finals that look, on paper, like textbook finals matchups.
The Carolina Hurricanes await Montreal in the Eastern Conference Final. In the West, the Presidents' Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche will face the Vegas Golden Knights.
The matchup already has enough history; the job is to keep the reading list shorter than the tension.
Rest versus rust in Carolina
The Hurricanes cruised through double sweeps of Ottawa and Philadelphia, finishing their second round series on May 9. That's a 12-day gap before the Conference Final begins — an unusually long layoff for a team that played only five games across 26 days in the tournament.
This is where it gets interesting. Montreal took all three meetings against Carolina this season, all in regulation, outscoring the Hurricanes 15-8. The top line of Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Nick Suzuki combined for eight goals across those games.
The Canadiens have the head-to-head data. They also have goaltender Jakub Dobes playing confidently. Whether that Translate to a series win is another matter.
Carolina's defense remains suffocating. The Hurricanes lead the league in expected goals against over the last five seasons, and Frederik Andersen is stopping 95.0 percent of shots in these playoffs — a massive upgrade from the regular season. They'll be fine.
Pick: Carolina in six.
Avalanche's heavyweight test
Colorado dismantled Dallas (112 points) and Minnesota (104 points) in back-to-back rounds. The Avalanche are as complete a team as they've been in years, with a goaltending duo of Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood stopping 91.0 percent of shots — roughly 50 goals above expected.
Vegas isn't a easy out. The Golden Knights have Carter Hart finding form at the right time, and their power play ranked third during the regular season. Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, and Tomas Hertl create chances as well as any line in hockey. Pavel Dorofeyev has nine goals already this postseason.
The problem for Vegas is depth. Colorado can roll four lines and two pairings without a明显 drop-off. The Avalanche have been here before and know how to close.
Pick: Colorado in five.